Mini game creep?

Very short pre-weekend post today, I am pretty slammed for time. But I did just want to mention the creeping trend of WoW Blizz-sanctioned mini games within the main game. I am talking about things like Darkmoon Faire games, Hearthstone tie-ins, Brawlers’ Guild, pet battles, etc. And a day or so ago I saw two references to mini games in professions in Legion.

Here’s the thing. I have absolutely no problem with these games as long as they remain completely self-contained. If I choose to play them, it should be simply because I enjoy them, there should be no impact on my progress in the larger main game of WoW. Similarly, if I choose not to play them, there should be no impact on my game progress. And most certainly there should be absolutely nothing regarding WoW progress that requires me to engage in any of these mini games. Cosmetic and vanity awards for them — heck, even a few achievement points — are fine, but there should be nothing of game substance attached to them.

This point of view is the reason I was incensed back at 6.2 when the only way to earn one of the new gem recipes was to attain a certain level with the Brawlers’ Guild. To me, this crossed a line that had always existed with these mini games, in that something Blizz had always portrayed as a voluntary diversion suddenly became integral to progress of my JC in the game. It seemed to me to be a breach of promise of some sort.

So when I start to see more and more references to various mini games in Legion, I start to get very nervous. Especially given Blizz’s acquisition of the Candy Crush Saga bunch. As I said, I have no problems with these things being present in WoW, and if people enjoy playing them as a diversion or as a way to get some vanity goodies, then fine, have at it. But the moment they begin to have substantive rewards that assist progress in the main game, then I get very annoyed.

We will see what happens in Legion, but I can’t shake this gnawing little worm at the back of my brain that is quietly sounding an alarm that soon we will be playing Candy Crush or something similar in WoW, and that it will be a gate for something of substance in the game.

2 Responses to Mini game creep?

Amen! It is rare for me to not finish something in professions but the +75 gem runs did it — I bailed and decided to buy them off the AH. It felt horrible!
Beyond that messy experience, I like the mini-games. Aside from pet battles, I don’t really play them. I don’t race in the DMF (I’d like to earn those toy wings someday, it is beyond my skills). I have zero interest in candy crush for the JC toy. I loved the noodle cart mini-game and zombies vs plants: they were like a one off — done and done.
I worry (just a tiny bit) about the developers using their resources on mini-games.